Post by Salem6 on Oct 12, 2003 12:22:54 GMT
At least four people have been killed in the Iraqi capital in a suspected suicide car bomb attack on a hotel used by senior coalition officials and the Iraqi Governing Council.
Reports say the car exploded after being fired on outside the Baghdad Hotel, one of the most heavily-guarded areas of the city.
US troops flooded the area as helicopters hovered overhead and ambulances rushed to scene.
There were reports of a second explosion nearby, but this has not been confirmed.
Part of the Baghdad Hotel is reported to have collapsed and witnesses have described body parts lying in the street.
A member of the Iraqi Governing Council who was in the hotel said seven people had died.
But the BBC's Jill McGivering, reporting from the scene, says it will be some time before the extent of casualties and damage is established.
US-led troops have continued to come under attack in Iraq since 1 May when President George Bush declared major hostilities over.
'High speed'
Smoke is still rising from the remains of a burnt out car and a second site inside the hotel's three-metre high blast wall.
MAJOR BOMB ATTACKS
9 October: Suicide car bomb hits police station in the northeast Shia district Sadr City, killing at least 10
29 August: Car bomb at mosque near Najaf, 125 killed, including Shia Islam top cleric
19 August: UN headquarters, Baghdad - 23 killed, including Sergio Vieira de Mello, veteran official
7 August: Jordanian Embassy - at least 14 killed
The blast rattled windows of the Palestine Hotel - home to many foreign journalists - about one kilometre away.
The Associated Press news agency has quoted witnesses as saying the car approched the Baghdad Hotel on the wrong side of the street.
"It was travelling at high speed. The guards at the gate fired on it. The car hit the concrete blast barrier and exploded," Sevan Armin said.
Another man described to AP being in a car immediately behind the one that exploded.
"The car in front of us, a 1990 Toyota Corolla, suddenly turned into the hotel. I saw the driver. He was not an Iraqi, he had a lighter complexion... A policeman shot at him four times, and then there was the explosion."
In August, a massive bomb at the United Nations headquarters building killed 22 people, including the head of mission.
And last week, the headquarters of Iraqi police was also hit, killing at least 10 policemen.
Reports say the car exploded after being fired on outside the Baghdad Hotel, one of the most heavily-guarded areas of the city.
US troops flooded the area as helicopters hovered overhead and ambulances rushed to scene.
There were reports of a second explosion nearby, but this has not been confirmed.
Part of the Baghdad Hotel is reported to have collapsed and witnesses have described body parts lying in the street.
A member of the Iraqi Governing Council who was in the hotel said seven people had died.
But the BBC's Jill McGivering, reporting from the scene, says it will be some time before the extent of casualties and damage is established.
US-led troops have continued to come under attack in Iraq since 1 May when President George Bush declared major hostilities over.
'High speed'
Smoke is still rising from the remains of a burnt out car and a second site inside the hotel's three-metre high blast wall.
MAJOR BOMB ATTACKS
9 October: Suicide car bomb hits police station in the northeast Shia district Sadr City, killing at least 10
29 August: Car bomb at mosque near Najaf, 125 killed, including Shia Islam top cleric
19 August: UN headquarters, Baghdad - 23 killed, including Sergio Vieira de Mello, veteran official
7 August: Jordanian Embassy - at least 14 killed
The blast rattled windows of the Palestine Hotel - home to many foreign journalists - about one kilometre away.
The Associated Press news agency has quoted witnesses as saying the car approched the Baghdad Hotel on the wrong side of the street.
"It was travelling at high speed. The guards at the gate fired on it. The car hit the concrete blast barrier and exploded," Sevan Armin said.
Another man described to AP being in a car immediately behind the one that exploded.
"The car in front of us, a 1990 Toyota Corolla, suddenly turned into the hotel. I saw the driver. He was not an Iraqi, he had a lighter complexion... A policeman shot at him four times, and then there was the explosion."
In August, a massive bomb at the United Nations headquarters building killed 22 people, including the head of mission.
And last week, the headquarters of Iraqi police was also hit, killing at least 10 policemen.